Topic: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Every child complains about a bellyache now and then. How can a parent tell what is wrong, and if it is dangerous? It is not always easy. Children less than 5 or 6 years of age often do not have the words to describe their sensations accurately. Toddlers do not separate emotional from physical distress. The young child's bellyache may represent hunger, fatigue, or a need to use the bathroom. School age children may wake with bellyaches on school days. Are they sick, or just anxious about an important test? Revised and updated 2009.

Without thinking much about it, most of us expect that doctors will be able to "explain" our aches, pains, and complaints by finding some sort of tissue damage or disease that causes our discomfort. Despite such expectations, many of us have learned that not all physical suffering can be neatly explained by a physical examination or by medical tests and procedures. Doctors call physical disorders that are real but not caused by tissue damage "functional" disorders. Children with recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) and their families struggle with this sometimes frustrating and confusing situation every day. This article reviews characteristics, causes, and treatments.

Irritable bowel syndrome is a disturbance of bowel function that includes symptoms of abdominal pain or discomfort and altered bowel habit (change in frequency or consistency) - chronic or recurrent diarrhea, constipation, or both in alternation.

Clinical Corner – Answers to Your Questions About Digestive Health
- Is nausea a symptom associated with IBS? How is it treated?
- Are rice-based foods recommended for people with digestive disorders like IBS?
- Can a colonoscopy procedure cause changes in bowel habits?